Animals Mammals

Giant anteater

SCIENTIFIC NAME:

Myrmecophaga tridactyla

PROFILE:

Giant anteaters are primarily solitary, with the exception of mothers and offspring. The offspring is carried on mom’s back and aligned with her white stripe, providing excellent camouflage, often until it is nine months old. Anteaters use their tongues, which are covered with small, backward-pointing spines and sticky saliva, to capture their prey. Those tongues can be up to two feet long!